Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy
Theatrical Release: 10/18/1991(USA)
Release Date: 02/15/2005
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DDS
Run Time: 101 Minutes
Flags: Questionable for Children, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
Norman Jewison directed
Alvin Sargent's adaptation of
Jerry Sterner's off-Broadway
satire of the excess of the '80s, with
Danny DeVito as corporate raider
Lawrence Garfield -- or, as he is better known,
Larry the Liquidator.
Larry spends his waking hours searching for companies to take over. One morning he comes across New England Wire & Cable, a company that has seen better days but is not debt-ridden and contains plenty of cash. Licking his chops,
Larry hopes to raid the company and strip its assets. But the company's president,
Andrew Jorgenson (
Gregory Peck), wants to continue in the wire and cable business. For help,
Andrew seeks out his daughter-in-law,
Kate Sullivan (
Penelope Ann Miller), a New York attorney who is as obsessive about saving
Andrew's company as
Larry is about destroying it. When she walks into
Larry's office,
Larry immediately falls in love. But they are adversaries, and they have to decide if love or corporate buyouts come first. This all comes to a head during a shareholder's meeting inside the factory, where both
Andrew and
Larry state their cases regarding
Andrew's beloved company.
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide